Rosemary Grant

Sister Rosemary Grant, SNDdeN was the middle of five children born and raised in Massachusetts. Her mother was trained as both a teacher and a nurse. Her father was a social worker with the city of Boston who attended Mass each day before work and once dreamed of becoming a priest. In a sense, her vocation with the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur has allowed her to follow in both her parents’ footsteps while forging her own path. 

Sister Rosemary was blessed to have a Notre Dame education starting in first grade. After graduating high school, she knew she wanted to join the Sisters but first she worked at a bank for a year. She attended Emmanuel College for her bachelor’s degree and earned a master’s in child guidance from Boston College. 

“I taught third and fourth grades and I loved it,” she says. “I just liked that the kids were kids. There was a spontaneity about them.” 

Sister Rosemary spent two decades in elementary classrooms throughout Massachusetts; early missions included schools in Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Hudson, Danvers, Methuen, Lawrence and Dorchester.  

Once her teaching career wound down, Sister Rosemary’s ministry got a second wind. In 1979 after a one-year sabbatical, she discovered a calling to care more deeply for others which lead her to work in counseling at St. Gregory’s (Dorchester). Her face lights up, though, when describing the seven years she spent in social ministry as resident director at Agape Place Family Shelter in Raleigh, North Carolina, serving homeless families. 

“I fell in love with the place,” she says. “It was the best thing I ever did. I learned a lot from the families.”  

Other duties took her to Framingham, Massachusetts, where she worked as a family advocate at Sage House and to Sanford, Maine, working with adults facing substance abuse challenges. Later in life, Sister Rosemary became a certified nursing assistant and activities director in West Boylston.  

She now resides at Notre Dame Health Care in Worcester where she enjoys crocheting prayer shawls to welcome all the new residents, participating in the book club and enjoying time outdoors. She also uses the sewing skills learned from her mother to tailor clothes for fellow residents at her home. 

“Retirement for me is not being a couch potato,” she says. “It is being involved with people in various stages of their lives, whether it be pushing a wheelchair, encouraging young staff or assisting a dying resident. The goodness of God has helped me relate to people and it’s also helped me to grow as a person.” 

Travel has also shaped her worldview, with visits to Haiti, Iceland, France, Belgium, Ireland, Bermuda and various parts of the U.S. “It is my firm belief that all pre-college young people should have at least one experience in a third world country,” she says.  

Through her ministry, travels and relationships, Sister Rosemary sees her life as richly blessed: “It is a full life, and I am blessed with family and good friends and a deep commitment to faith in God and Notre Dame.” 

Updated in 2025